tough cookie

so my little Hazelnut had her immunizations today. :( big sad face. of course, I was more upset for longer than she was. She cried a lot at the first pricks, then settled down nicely, while I, on the other hand, took a lot longer to regain my composure. After waiting for 15 mins afterwards, we came home and she's been sleeping since we left. I am so amazed at how tough my daughter is! She is amazing :)
So, she's now at 12 lbs. 15 1/4 oz and 23 in long. Yes, that's 90% for weight and 75% for height. Apparently she's storing up for the winter?? ;) I'm grateful she's healthy and strong, and more grateful that her head is in the 50% for size.
Quenton's last day of work before holidays ended up being yesterday, so we're leaving for his parents' place tomorrow. I'm excited for Hazel to have her first Christmas! I know she won't remember a lot, but the rest of us will! Last weekend we went to my mom and dad's just for a visit. Hazel loved it! (Grandma and Grandpa did too!!). Mom is recovering from her surgery, so she wasn't supposed to carry Hazel around (even though she did.....). It's nice to know that Hazel didn't mind the trip there, and I'm hoping that tomorrow she'll do fine too.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

good morning.....

so it's 9:30 in the MORNING, and I'm not fighting off a sleep deprived headache, or zonked out because I didn't get to bed until 3am. It's pretty nice! Hazel's been having some off nights, and I'm attributing it to a growth spurt. I have to, since there's nothing else that I can think of that would make her want to eat so often and stay awake for so long.... maybe I'm off, but I'm still learning!
Quenton took the day off, for which I'm so grateful! It was beginning to feel a little overwhelming for me to think of all the things that I needed/wanted to get finished before we leave to visit my parents this weekend, as well as before we head down south next weekend. I have a few more gifts to get, and I want to pick up some ingredients to do a little baking. I'm hoping to get enough baked to keep some here and take some with us next week. :)
Mom had her gall bladder removed yesterday, and is now back home. She gave us a little scare when she was admitted to the hospital last week (after being there a week earlier) and then rushed to Camrose the next morning to see a specialist. She was having severe (mildly put) pain in her stomach area, so after an ultrasound and staying for a couple of days, the doctor suggested having her gall bladder taken out. It's pretty unnerving when you're not around to see how she's actually doing. I was able to see her, so I talked to my siblings to let them know she was ok. Quenton, Hazel and I are going to visit mom and dad this weekend, so that'll be nice since we won't see them Christmas day.
I feel how difficult it is to sometimes focus on what's really important when life gets a little overwhelming, but I am so grateful for my family and just being with my two favourite people. This has been a really good year for my little family, and I'm so grateful for the blessings Heavenly Father was willing to grant us. What a wonderful time of year!
oh, and even though I started this at 9:30, it took me ALL DAY to finish it. :)
oh, and here are a couple more pictures of little Hazel. She just melts my heart!

Have a great Christmas!

ahhhh, December.....

so December is already here and I haven't started my Christmas shopping. WHAT!?!? I was hoping to be more on the ball this year, but honestly, who are we kidding? Hopefully this week I'll be able to get it all done with little Hazel. I found out that chocolate makes her super unhappy, so no more chocolate for me. It's not that big of a deal, since I'm not a choc-o-holic, but what about hot chocolate? I'll have to figure something out.... maybe apple cider? mmmmm..........
So, now that we've figured out what was the main reason for her fussing and staying up till all hours of the night, I feel more comfortable taking her out to run errands. I was a little hesitant to take her out if she got fussy, so hopefully this week will be a success. :)
Hazel has changed so much! She last weighed 10 lbs 7 oz (nov. 29) and is getting bigger everyday. :) I just love cuddling with her whenever I can, and talking to her about everything. :) This Christmas will be so exciting! I know that she won't understand what's going on, but just having her around will be pretty fun. :)
So, we took some family pictures yesterday after Church. My mom and sister have been bugging me for one, so we attempted to get a good result. I wish I was better at taking pictures, or at least being able to edit colour and stuff like that. I know so many people who take pictures as a hobby, and I think that's something I'd like to try out. I suppose I'd need a good camera, so maybe I'll have to put off this new hobby for a while.
Anyway, here's the one I thought was the best. I think we'll try to get another one taken around Christmas, even though Quenton isn't big into getting them done. I'm sure someone could just draw stick figures of us and Q would think that it was good enough! just kidding, but he's really a guy when it comes to stuff like this. :)

so there you have it. I'll probably take more another time, mostly because I love taking pictures of my little Hazelnut. :)
Oh, and here's our Christmas tree. :)

Merry Christmas!